Nuclear energy reduced by 9.2% in 2011

Nuclear energy supply saw a 9.2% reduction last year, according to a new report.

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) report said the decrease was seen in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, which includes the UK, US, Australia, Spain and Japan among other countries.

The news follows the Fukushima disaster last year, which the IEA said affected Japan’s nuclear electricity production by 65% and Germany’s dropped by 23%.

However, there was an increase in global coal production by 6.6%, the twelfth consecutive year of growth, with China taking over from Japan as the world’s largest importer and Indonesia becoming the world’s largest exporter.

The IEA report also showed the total primary energy supply from renewable sources increased to 8.2% in OECD countries last year compared to 7.8% in 2010, with wind power topping the list.